Radical Dreamers
by sadistic lunatic
Summary: Ben 10/DC Superheroes crossover and possible multichap. For now, a oneshot. Hints of BenGwen and BenKara. Read the rant at the end for more info. The World always loves its children. He disappeared. They have come. Their lives would be forever changed.


**Disclaimer:** Me-me no owny. That-on sucky!

Hints on BenGwen. Use your imagination. Don't like, don't read.

* * *

"Oh yeah, another one for the awesome hero!" Ben cheered and struck a pose at the downed non-alien criminals.

"Uh, hello, Earth to doofus, _I_ helped out too!" his cousin, Gwen, folded her arms irritably after she finished her binding spell while Grandpa Max called for someone to pick up the criminals.

He grinned cheekily at her. "Uh, right. One for my sidekick, too."

He was immediately lifted into the air . . .

"BENJAMIN TENNYSON!"

. . . and was promptly dumped in a trash bin.

_It started out as a normal day_. He fell off his bunk and groaned as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Gwen laughed an insult from where she sat, typing away on her laptop about who knows what. He guessed it to be about some nerdy thing like getting into university.

Honestly, were they even related? She was still thirteen. Normal thirteen year olds did not worry about getting scholarships for universities. He rolled his neck and shot back an insult as he approached.

Then again, normal thirteen year olds did not go around beating aliens and playing anonymous hero during their spare time. Normal thirteen year olds did not spend their summers travelling all over the country and putting a stop to illegal alien – and human – activities.

He grinned. Normal thirteen year olds did not know what they were missing.

"What are you grinning about now, doofus?"

"Your face once Stinkfly's done with you, dweeb."

"Now, now kids, it's not nice to be fighting so early in the day." Max came in, carrying two plates of what the cousins considered gross. "Especially not before breakfast."

Gwen mouthed her distaste first. "Ugh, can't we have something, I don't know, edible for once?" she pinched her nose as the plate was set in front of her. "And what's with the smell?"

The old Plumber smiled. "Appetizing isn't it?"

"Yeah, like Stinkfly in an ice cream shop." He jabbed the . . . worm with his fork. "Yup. Tasty."

"Come now, this is what adventure is all about."

"I think I prefer fighting bad guys, thank you." He pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand as he scooped up the. . . thing, with his spoon using his other and brought it close to his mouth. Gwen gaped at him, disbelief written on her face. "Well, here goes nothing."

He shoved the spoon in Gwen's mouth. She spluttered and spat out the _squirming_ thing. "BEN!"

He grinned as he scampered away. Max sighed. Yup, it was going to be a normal summer day. The rest of the morning proceeded as _normal_ – Ben playing around with his Omnitrix while occasionally replying to Gwen's insults as she updated her blog. The radio picked up news about a bank robbery, the thieves apparently "armed with _alien_ technology", in the nearby town and Ben cheered.

"All right! Going hero!"

The pubescent Tennyson male slammed his hand on the watch, turning into animalistic Wildmutt. Gwen laughed hard at his blunder. "Gee, Ben, you better get moving if you want to make it there on time." She smirked. "Given you actually _know_ where the robbery is."

Max started up the Rustbucket and drove off as Wildmutt growled at her.

"Oh don't give me that." She waved a finger at him. "You barely know your way around school. Need I remind you about the Showers incident?"

He whined indignantly.

"That's only because you follow the sounds of an explosion so that doesn't count."

The ex-Plumber glanced back at the two using the rearview mirror. "Gwen, can you actually understand what he's saying?"

Gwen looked at him blankly. "Can't you?"

Wildmutt just yipped at her.

"You're the doofus, loser."

They arrived at the crime scene in a few minutes and, true enough, red lasers were flying at the cops. It really was a wonder - all the bad guys were teched-out with lasers while the cops only had normal guns. The two cousins quickly got off with Gwen riding on her Vulpimancer-turned-cousin's back, never noticing how their grandpa's eyes narrowed and lips thinned.

The conflict ended normally with the bad guys behind bars and a cheering Benjamin Tennyson. Gwen said something to which her cousin replied the usual norm and promptly got himself dumped in a trash bin.

Max shook his head at the display as the cousins continued to fight. Yup, it was going to be a normal day. . .

_Only, it wasn't . . ._

And their _World_ lost its greatest hero.

"_Ugh, get this gunk off me!"_

"_Hello? I only want to have a normal life, dweeb. You could go die by yourself, thank you very much."_

"_What was that? Chickening out on me now?"_

"_Perverted creep! W-what the hell was that?!"_

"_Ben, what's wrong?"_

"_Gotta blow off some steam."_

"_Hahahahaha! Tennyson, I have you now!"_

"_Uncle! The spell!"_

"_Not today Hex, Charmcaster!"_

"_Gwen, no! You don't know what that spell is going to do!"_

"Gwen . . ." Ben's eyes were glazed as he stared at his cousin. She was screaming something. Her lips were moving – those same _beautiful _lips his own had brushed against moments earlier when _his _truths came out – yet he could not hear anything. His world became brighter and brighter until it became too bright . . .

_A powerful boom reverberated._

He screamed as the darkness came.

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNN!"

Gwen's green eyes hollowed as she fell lifelessly on her knees, her grandfather howling his pain against the wind.

_And the day was supposed to be normal . . ._

* * *

Of course, the _World_ always loves its children. Years later, destiny/fate/karma/_whatever_ brought its beloved son back. The worlds talked and agreed.

A deafening boom rang through the open field as a yellowish portal tore through space and spat out two humanoid figures. The first one plopped on the ground chest first while the second righted herself in mid-air before landing gracefully.

"Ugh, what was that?" the figure on the ground groaned as he stood up, his voice slow and calm, despite his mood, while he brushed the dust from his shoulders.

"Le Fay getting mad at you, that's what." His partner quipped while gathering her bearings. Her partner's butterfly-like wings opened, flapping themselves before covering him like a blue cloak. "Any idea where we are?"

"Nope." He cracked his neck. "But that sounded like a boom tube so my guess is far away."

"Great. I hate magic." She cursed something under her breath in her native tongue.

The humanoid moth smiled wryly. "See, now you know why Zee scares me."

She eyed him impassively. "Remind me to punch your lights out after we figure out where we are."

"And I should do that because . . . ?"

"Because I told you so."

"Bossy dweeb."

"You know you love me for it." She cooed. "But seriously? 'Dweeb'? Are you ten? And don't answer that question!"

The mothman grinned smugly.

She heard a large rumbling sound from above. Looking up, she saw what appeared to be a battleship descend. "Is this an alien . . . invasion?"

"Yup. It even looks familiar." He sighed. He really did recognize that ship. "Feels like home already."

Drones descended from the ship in waves and flew towards the city below where a battle seemed to be taking place.

The mothman smacked himself in the head. "I can't believe we missed a _burning_ city. . ."

"Oh shush you." Her eyes zoomed into the heart of the battle zone, ignoring his mutterings about _burning cities_. "Hmm, squid-like face, check. Massive arm with spikes on his shoulders, check. Tall and seriously needs a bath, check." Crystal blue eyes shifted to her companion. "Earwax?"

"Vilgax. Yeah." Slanted emerald eyes looked over his surroundings before shrugging. "I guess we're not in Smallville anymore."

"Kansas. Smallville is in Kansas."

"Well, yeah. But if I said Kansas, I might have to pay for copyright infringement."

"Ah who ca-" a building suddenly exploded. "Hmm, correct me if I'm wrong but, shouldn't we stop Squidboy?"

She looked around only to notice her partner missing.

"Way ahead of you."

She looked up before quickly taking off.

"Hey, no fair!"

"First one to land a punch gets to smack the rag doll!"

"Don't regret it!"

A blue and red blur suddenly shot passed him, the resulting sonic boom knocking him off course and slamming him into the ground. "Hey, no fair!"

She stopped mid-flight and winked at him. "That's what I said." She turned and leaned slightly forward, sneaking a quick glance behind her to make sure his attention was where _she_ wanted. The gentle breeze carried her sexy smirk . . . among _other_ things. "Toodles, Ten!"

"Argh, that girl." He groaned pitifully at the sight. Now _that_ stopped him long enough for her to get a good lead. He couldn't help it; no matter what form he took, he _is _still a hormonal teenage boy. Shaking his head, he stood up and unfolded his blue wings. "Well, if she wants to do it that way . . ."

He winced as he felt tremors from what he just knew was her fist meeting Vilgax's thick plating. Seeing several buildings collapse only further proved the fact. "On second thought, I think I'll go do damage control first."

A green flash later saw a blue Kineceleran blur shooting through the city.

* * *

"Keep him busy!" Max Tennyson was many things. He was a veteran Plumber and, despite his old age, is still strong enough to face down dangerous threats such as the one in front of him. He was also a grandfather, and a tired one at that. He knew that he shouldn't be relying on his only grandchild left but she was as stubborn as the one he lost three years ago. That fact, however, hardened his resolve. Vilgax would not get his hands on her. "I'm almost done with the evacuation!"

"I'm trying!" the redheaded Tennyson shouted over the communication link before levitating a car at Vilgax who just shrugged it off like it was nothing. She grew up in the past three years, striving hard to be both a model student - for her parents - and a respected Plumber - for Ben.

Many people grieved when they lost Ben that day. She grieved the hardest. At first, she shrugged it off and laughed, telling herself that Ben would come back – he was just running away from his responsibility. He'd be back - he always came back. He was Ben 10, the most persistent mega-dweeb she had ever known. It wasn't even an epic battle - she'd give him a few days, maximum.

But those days turned to weeks, those weeks turned to a month and then summer had ended with still no sign of Ben. Her anger dissipated but she still didn't worry. She shrugged it off but somehow lost the strength to laugh; he'd be back in a few more days. It was when her – _their_ – birthday finally came when it hit her like a train. Ben was gone.

She broke down as she blew her – _their_ – candle.

To her, she didn't just lose her cousin. She lost her best friend – her confidante, the most annoying mega-doofus/dweeb hybrid in the planet. Her heart ached during the nights. If she was honest, with herself, she'd even go as far as saying she lost her other half. For the entire year she mourned the loss. It was only Grandpa Max who came close to understanding her pain. He, after all, also spent those summers with the insufferable doofus. And so he was the one that brought her out of her funk. _"Gwen, do you really think he would allow you to do this to yourself?! Do you honestly think he would?"_

And so, here she was, doing the one thing she knew he'd want her to do. That didn't stop her from hoping, though. Hoping that one day, _her_ hero would come back.

The world needed him, especially now that Vilgax returned, angrier than ever.

"You're weak, vermin girl." The Chimera Sui Generis taunted, slapping another truck sent his way. He grabbed a car and threw it at her, making her cease her attack and run for cover. "Your mongrel cousin couldn't fight me alone, what makes you think you can?"

She grinned even as her eyes narrowed. "I'm smarter than him, for one." She shielded her eyes as the Plumber gun she set to detonate exploded right under him. Vilgax's eyes widened before he was consumed by the blast. "And none gets to insult my cousin but me!"

"Is that all you've got, Tennyson?" Her blood froze as a figure leapt through the smoke and into the air before rapidly descending upon her, arms raised. "You are not even worth my time."

She stood her ground in fear.

_Ben . . ._

"GWEN!" Her radio-headset suddenly flared. "Sensors are picking up something. It's moving fast – IT'S HEADING YOUR W- !"

That was the only warning she got before a red and blue blur slammed into Vilgax, sending him through a row of buildings. Gwen instinctively raised a shield and struggled to keep it up as she was blown away. If the shockwave didn't break it, the flying debris sure as hell would.

"Grandpa, are you okay?!" she shouted over her headset.

"Yeah." His gruff reply came. "I was able to take cover just in time." Good. For a moment there, she panicked. "Any idea what that was?"

They heard another boom and saw what appeared to be Vilgax flipping into the sky, followed closely by someone. She winced as the criminal was sent crashing into the ground.

"No idea, but I sure am glad it came when it did."

She heard another boom ducked as someone flew passed her before crashing into the building behind her. Looking forward, she saw Vilgax cracking his knuckles as he prowled forward, looking very pissed. His armored chest was chipped and cracked.

"WHO ARE YOU?!"

Make that very, _very_ pissed.

"Che." The figure climbed out of the debris while patting the dust off her clothes. Gwen observed she was a seemingly human blonde girl – probably about her age - wearing a blue top and too-short skirt, her top having a red "S" on it. She also wore a red cape, which bore the same "S". "I actually felt that. He never said anything about this."

"Don't make me repeat myself, impudent girl." Vilgax's eyes narrowed. His muscles suddenly increased in mass. Gwen's eyes widened as the tall alien criminal charged in her direction.

"This is gonna be fun." The blonde flew passed her quickly and traded blows equally with the alien conqueror. A crater started growing where the two combatants were brawling. Dust started to gather and swirl around the fighting pair.

She shielded her eyes from the dust before taking cover. "Grandpa! Grandpa, come in! You won't believe what is happening!"

"Gwen what is happ-AAAAHHH!" a cracking sound could be heard before the line went dead. Gwen snapped towards the direction Max ran off to earlier in the fight. Her eyes widened as she saw a building collapse.

"NO!" she screamed. This couldn't be happening; not again. Another blur suddenly appeared before her, dropping a large old man before disappearing. Relief washed over her. She could recognize that pink shirt anywhere. "Grandpa?!"

"Gwen, what-?" he sentence was cut short again when the ground shook. The duo's eyes snapped towards the battle again as the blonde girl was flung towards yet another building, bringing it down on top of her. The dust cloud cleared, revealing a panting Vilgax with his hands on his knees, his armored plating chipped and dented and half-covering his chest. Max's eyes widened at the sight. "This is – this is intense. What's happening? Who was that?"

"I don't know." Gwen's voice was shy of a whisper. If her Grandpa didn't know what was happening, what more she?

"You . . . you fight . . . well . . . girl . . ." Vilgax wheezed out. The rubble suddenly moved, revealing the blonde who was also out of breath. She brushed the back of her hand over her mouth, wiping out the small trail of blood. "Tell me . . . who . . . are you . . .?"

Her ears picked up a high-pitched humming sound, causing the edges of her lips to turn up in a predatory grin.

"One word." She stilled her breath.

Vilgax tensed and his muscles bulked up even more to prepare for the coming onslaught.

"Supergirl." Another voice – male – cut in.

_That voice . . . !_

The blonde – Supergirl - shot towards the alien conqueror, the latter braced himself for another grueling round. The two Tennyson's eyes widened as another blue blur zoomed from behind and collided with the surprised – and very much unprepared – Vilgax.

"WHA-?!"

"Miss me?" the newcomer taunted as he threw another fist towards the back of Vilgax's head while Kara threw a punch at his gut.

"He's speechless, it seems." Anyone could just here the grin from her voice. "What took you so long?"

"Evac. It's a big city." The blue blur dropped and swept Vilgax's legs as he dodged a desperate backhand. "Doesn't help that you're making it smaller by the second."

"Hey! You never told me he was this tough!" she blocked a punch with one hand and another with her other. Seeing as her hands were preoccupied, she head-butted Vilgax. "Ew, gross. Squid spit."

"He was never this tough!" He grunted as pain lanced through his arm. It seemed he wasn't fully healed yet. Vilgax staggered backwards before taking another desperate swing, managing to fling the blue blur away.

"TEN!" the blonde cried. Her eyes narrowed as she punched the staggering alien straight in the head and continued the fight with new resolve.

Just as the newcomer was about to slam into a building, he suddenly flashed green and changed appearance, revealing a man wearing brown jeans and a white shirt with a black stripe down the middle, floating in mid-air. His face was covered by a white scarf which was wrapped around his head so that only his eyes could be seen. Gwen, Max, and Vilgax's eyes widened as they recognized the familiar symbol on his belt.

"Grandpa, isn't that the-"

"OMNITRIX!" Vilgax shouted before he was punched through the ground.

"S, let's end this!" The man floated beside her.

"Gladly, T." Kara grinned. The ground started to rumble then burst outward in a spray of cement and debris. The duo's eyes followed Vilgax's form as he soared above them. "You think he's trying to run away?"

Green eyes glinted mischievously. "I sure hope not."

The duo shot off into the sky, leaving the two gaping Tennysons to stare at their departing figures. Even from their place on the ground, they could hear the blows that were exchanged high above them.

"Grandpa . . ."

"I don't know." He mumbled. "But that was the Omnitrix which means-"

"Hey, are you two alright?" both looked to the sky to see two floating figures.

Gwen's heart skipped a beat.

The blonde – Supergirl – was floating higher than the guy – Ten. Supergirl held the limp and brutally battered form of Vilgax by one of his tentacles with one hand. Max averted his eyes away when the wind blew, causing Ten to grin up at his partner. "Now look what you did! Big Blue was right. You need to get a longer skirt!"

"Like it really matters when you're flying." She stuck her tongue out at him then grinned smugly. "Besides, _you_ never complained."

Max turned to Gwen and saw her staring intently at the white-masked man. "I am Max Tennyson, an agent of the Plumbers. May we have the alien, Vilgax?"

Ten shrugged, avoiding Gwen's gaze. "Sure. Drop him."

The blonde did just that and the unconscious Vilgax landed with a thud.

"Thanks, we appreciate your assistance." Max smiled warmly at the floating pair.

"No problem." The masked male grinned. "We are heroes, after all."

Gwen's eyes started to water. Her heart pounded hard with each syllable the man spoke.

_That voice . . . I'd recognize that voice anywhere!_

Max realized he had to act fast before Gwen eventually broke. He hastily took out the Null Void Projector and fired it at the downed Chimera Sui Generis. A yellow portal opened, sucking him in before closing in on itself. He sighed in relief. "Well, that takes care of that."

"Yeah."

"Ben?" Three sets of eyes stared at Gwen. She took in a deep breath before stepping forward. She searched the man's emerald eyes for strength. "That's – Ben, that's you . . . isn't it?" Her eyes glistening, the redhead spoke softly, her voice cracking no matter how hard she tried to prevent it.

"I . . ." the man trailed off and broke his gaze, facing his partner who floated down to level with him, for support.

She shoved him impatiently. "Get it over with already."

Slowly, the man floated towards Gwen as he unraveled his mask, Gwen's eyes never leaving the green of his. The closer he got, the cloudier her eyes became until at last the mask came off and _he_ was standing right in front of her. Her hands flew to her mouth as she choked back a sob, tears of joy running down the sides of her cheeks.

The sixteen year old Benjamin Tennyson scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly at his _beloved_ cousin, his warm, gentle forest eyes meeting her beautiful glistening emeralds.

"I'm home, Gwen. Sorry I took so long."

_Their – _Her_ – Hero returned._

* * *

**Author's Notes/Rant:**

Tsk, tsk. Poor Max, always getting cut off mid-speech.

Right-o, as you've probably guessed, this is a DC Superheroes/Ben 10 crossover. This is also a tie-in to a future project of mine, Anatomy of a Hero, which deals with the three years Ben was missing. This fic is set pre- and post- Anatomy of a Hero. I might or might not post it in this – Ben 10 - section, though, depending on people's thoughts because, despite being about Ben, it's set in the DC world and as such, will feature many of their heroes. A bit more information can be found in my Author's Page.

Yes, Ben has Kryptonian DNA in his lil' watch of tricks. I'll leave it up to you to figure out from whom. Hint: not Superman. However, my take on the Omnitrix is that it gives its bearer the abilities _but not the full strength_ of the alien form. If that makes sense to you, you get a cookie.

Yes, the bit with Ben's disappearance is disappointing. I didn't feel like writing more about it, mostly because I don't know what language the Ben 10 world's spells are.

Originally, this fic is supposed to be a one-shot tie-in. Now however, I'm wondering "If I should continue this, where will it go?" and "If I really continue this, updates will take really long." My first question is answered by AU Alien Force - this time with the crew consisting of Bwen, Kara, and Kevin, who's there because of his car. And no, I didn't misspell. That _is_ Bwen. As in, BenGwen Bwen. As in, Ben and Gwen in a rose-petal bath after drinking a bottle of aphrodisiac and no condoms in sight. Ahem.

Yes I know, this story is confusing and the hints (?) of Ben/Kara are strong . . . as are the Bwen. I think.

Power Levels: 

The Vilgax in this story is much stronger than in Ben 10 – mostly due to his sentence in the Null Void. He's grown stronger and more experience, hence being able to stand up against Kara. _Hey, I had to make him stronger else the fight would be a no-brainer._

Kryptonian!Ben is weaker than Kara but makes up for it by his usage of his other alien forms.

Kara is still Kara – stronger than Superman unless he's I-Will-Kill-Darkseid serious. For those who don't read the comics, Darkseid is a god. 'Nuff said.

Gwen knows magic, which gives her the advantage against Kara. This raises another problem: if I continue this, what type of magic will Gwen have? The original series showcases the usual magic while AF gives her energy manipulation – not exactly magic.

Last note: How does a Ben 10/New Mutants (X-23, Hellion, etc) crossover sound like? Anyone interested in writing one?

Anyways, thanks for reading this rant (if you did, you get another cookie) and this one-shot/possible multi-chap.

Please review!


End file.
